After The End
by AcidPopz
Summary: What happened to our favorite characters during those long 19 years? How did Harry, Hermione, and Ron get to where they are during the epilogue? This is a story of their lives. Could someone please help me? I don't know how to add another chapter!


The Great Hall was filled with noises. Voldemort had been defeated, and cheers and celebratory shouts seemed to mock those who hadn't joined in the merry-making. Some were silent with shock, taking in the events that had transpired in the past few hours. Others, unlike the wizards and witches whooping triumphantly, were consumed with grief in the wake of the deaths of their loved ones.

A small group of people stood together, most of whom had ginger hair, and most had silent tears running down their cheeks. But the sobbing of one person overwhelmed all the others in the Great Hall.

Mrs. Weasley was a short, plump, ginger-haired woman, whose normally happy and cheerful expression was obscured by the unmistakable horror and grief that was displayed on her face. Crouching next to her was her husband, Arthur, who was a tall, thin, and balding man, who had tears streaming down his face and onto the figure below them. Both were looking in shock at their son, Fred Weasley, who was sprawled at an odd angle on the cold marble floor, a joking smile still on his face. George Weasley, upon seeing his dead twin, ran off to the bathroom retching, his face deathly white.

Meanwhile, up in the Gryffindor Common Room, four young figures sat by the fire. Ron Weasley sat staring silently at the flames, while Hermione Granger sat on his lap in the chair and cried, her cheek against Ron's chest.

In an armchair a few feet away, Harry Potter, also known as 'The Boy Who Lived,' or more commonly 'the Chosen One,' sat with Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister. Ginny, like Hermione, was crying quietly, her head against Harry's shoulder. Harry stared around the Common Room at nothing in particular, one arm around Ginny and the other gently stroking her long mane of ginger hair.

Harry couldn't believe it was over or that he had survived. He hadn't expected to survive. While the grief of losing Fred, Remus, and Tonks was still fresh, Harry was happy and relieved that his ordeal of finishing off Voldemort was over. He could begin the nest chapter of his life without the risk of impending death. He could now have the life he'd always wanted. Finally, with this thought on his mind, he fell asleep.

His dreams shifted from nightmares about Malfoy Manor, to nightmares about Bathilda Bagshot, to reliving moments with Dobby, to seeing Snape's memories, and then to meeting his parents, Sirius, and Remus in the forest.

His dreams then drifted to the future as he imagined living in a world without Voldemort. He could picture a large house, somewhere near Ottery St. Catchpole, with a big surrounding yard, a white fence, a garden, and some trees. The house would look similar to the Burrow, without the crooked and creaking stairs, and without the ghoul. Harry could see in his mind a regular morning schedule: he would get up and out of bed, and go downstairs to the smell of bacon, eggs, and toast. He would kiss his lovely wife as a small girl with messy ginger hair and bright green eyes ran up to him and said, "Daddy!"

Harry awoke suddenly, as though he had heard that shrill voice. He looked around for a moment, saw where he was, and went back to sleep with a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Ron still sat staring at the now dwindling fire. Hermione had stopped crying, and seemed to be in a peaceful sleep, breathing deeply with her cheek still against Ron's chest.

Looking down from the fire at last, Ron's eyes went to the figure he held in his arms. 'It had taken a long time,' he thought, 'but now I don't have to wait anymore.' His dream had become a reality. There would be no more fantasizing, no more wishing, and no more hoping. There would just be the two of them.

Whenever he had dreamed about the future, the future after Voldemort, Hermione was always there with him. But now that that future was the present he could imagine more. In his head he could picture a girl with big, brown eyes, wavy ginger-hair, and his laziness, and he could also picture a boy with bright blue eyes.

Ron opened his eyes and saw Hermione looking up at him with a smile on her face.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hi." She paused for a moment. "We should go back to your family. They'll wonder where we all are." Ron's face slipped into an expression of sadness at these words.

"Yeah," he said hoarsely. He couldn't believe Fred was gone.

"I'm so sorry about Fred, Ron." Looking down, he saw that Hermione's eyes were filled with tears. He squeezed her gently and blinked rapidly to avoid crying himself.

"Yeah … I'm sorry too," he said finally.

"Can't I keep him just a little longer?" Andromeda Tonks was sobbing, holding a bundle in her arms in which a small baby was squirming slightly.

Andromeda, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were all standing in the kitchen of the Burrow. [Percy, George, Charlie, Bill, and Fleur were all upstairs.]

"He can stay with you, I just wanted to see him," Harry replied.

"Oh, thank you, thank you. Would you like to hold him?" Mrs. Tonks asked.

"Er—sure, but you'll have to show me how …" Harry said nervously.

"Well you support his head with your arm, and put your other arm beneath his back to support his weight."

Holding Teddy gently with one arm, she moved Harry's arms into the perfect baby-holding position.

"Yes, like that. Here … be careful to support his head," she instructed him.

Slowly, Andromeda handed the baby to Harry.

Harry looked down at his godson for the first time.

"Hi, Teddy," he said as the baby opened his eyes. "I'm your godfather."

The baby's hair colour changed from dark brown to green as he stared into Harry's face. Harry grinned involuntarily. Around him, he heard Ron and Hermione laugh as Teddy's hair turned navy blue.

"I'm Harry. You'll be living with your grandmum, but I promise I'll visit you a lot and bring presents." Teddy blinked up at Harry as though he understood.

Looking back up, Harry said, "Mrs. Tonks, may I visit him twice a week? It wouldn't have to be for long, I just want to get to know him and for him to know who I am."

Mrs. Tonks smiled brightly through her tears. "Of course," she replied.

"Oh, but you must stay here for awhile," declared Mrs. Weasley.

"I couldn't, Molly." Harry was surprised to hear Mrs. Tonks call Mrs. Weasley 'Molly.' He hadn't thought they'd known each other for very long.

"Nonsense, please stay, with everything that has happened, the more company, the better." Mrs. Weasley looked as though she was about to cry again, but when she spoke her voice was steady. "And I daresay you will soon want some rest from taking care of the baby," she said, smiling slightly.

"Would it really be okay with you? I don't want to be a bother," said Mrs. Tonks uncertainly.

"Oh, it would never be a bother, please stay," replied Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you," said Andromeda tearfully.

Across the room, Ginny spoke, and everybody looked at her.

"When are the funerals going to be?" she asked quietly. There was a somber silence as they all turned towards Mrs. Weasley, whose eyes began to tear up once more.

"Well … your father and I were thinking tonight for …" and she broke off, and began sobbing. Everyone knew that she had been going to say 'Fred.' Mr. Weasley moved forward and hugged his wife. The room was silent.

"And I wanted to keep Nymphadora and Remus at our house. We could have theirs tonight too," Mrs. Tonks said. Harry spoke uncertainly.

"But I think they should be laid to rest at Hogwarts … as a sign that they were heroes and of what they did for the wizarding world. I think they both would have wanted that," Harry said. Mrs. Tonks thought for a moment.

"Well, I suppose that would be better, because when I'm gone nobody will look after the house. Yes, they should be laid to rest at Hogwarts," she finished. "But I'll still want to visit them from time to time." And she began crying again.

Everybody stood still as Andromeda tried to compose herself, but Harry, who was still holding Teddy, grimaced as an unpleasant smell wafted to his nose. He realized what the smell was almost immediately.

"Erm … Mrs. Tonks? Could I possibly give Teddy back to you now? He definitely needs to be changed and I would rather not do it just now …" said Harry nervously. By now, everybody in the room could smell it. Mrs. Tonks laughed.

"Oh, of course," she replied, taking the baby from Harry, who was looking very relieved, "and please call me Andromeda," she added.

Soon after this, Mrs. Tonks was escorted to the room in which she would be staying. It had been agreed that she would sleep in Bill's room. There, Mrs. Weasley had placed a small crib for Teddy, along with a baby blanket she had obviously knitted so many years before for one of her own children.

The aura around the house was of grief, sorrow, love, and relief. Each person was consumed in his or her emotions as the night's funerals came closer by the minute, along with the beginnings of their new lives and a welcome era of peace.

_**Chapter 2**_

Ron and Hermione sat on the worn, soft sofa in the Weasleys' living room. Hermione was leaning on Ron, who had his arm around her.

"Ron? I should go to Australia tomorrow to get my parents. Will you come with me? I don't want to go by myself." She looked up into his face.

"Sure, I guess. But I've never been there. Where are your parents?"

"They're in Canberra." Ron gave her a blank look. "That's the capital of Australia, so it's a pretty big city, and that's why I decided to put them there. It would be harder for Voldemort to track them down," Hermione explained. Ron sighed.

"I'm so glad all of this is over. Now we can live like normal people. I don't think I want to be an Auror anymore. I think I'd like to help George work in the shop. I don't want to chase bad guys around for the rest of my life, it sounds too boring. What do you want to do?" finished Ron.

"Well, I was thinking about being a Healer, but I might also want to work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the Ministry. But I want to go back to Hogwarts and finish my education. You and Harry and I could go back together to finish school. That way we'd still be with Ginny and Luna."

"Well … if I'm just helping George at the shop I don't really need to finish school, do I? I mean, I'd like to go back to Hogwarts, but there would be no point, would there? I don't really need to learn anymore." Hermione frowned.

"How do you know? And besides, wouldn't you get a bit bored after a while? Harry and Ginny and I would all be at Hogwarts so you wouldn't see us besides on the weekends if McGonagal let us floo to Diagon Alley."


End file.
